You’ve probably noticed a new look for our district website. In fact, just about everything about the Lakota website has a dramatic new look and feel. Below are our “Top 10 Tools” to help you make the most of the new site and get to the information you need as quickly as possible.

Note that these tips focus mostly on the homepage since you can get almost anywhere from there. You’ll also find many other improvements throughout the department and school pages, also redesigned to improve the experience for all of our visitors.

10. Find Your School’s New Site:The “Select a School” button at the top left of the homepage lets you quickly jump to any school’s site. While a lot of district information is shared on the school sites, school-specific information can be found here. Please note the two high school sites are included in the redesign, but won’t launch for another couple weeks.

9. Language: The “Language” button (also top left of the homepage) allows you to translate the site into 10 languages, such as Spanish, Cantonese, French, Korean and Hindi.

8. Search & Login: Use the search bar at the top to search by keyword for any page or document throughout the whole site. The login button is intended for staff to be able to log in through One Login and view staff-specific information, helping declutter the site for other visitors.

7. Connect, Apply, Enroll:The three buttons at the top right of the homepage – Connect, Apply, Enroll – jump to task-oriented sections of the site. Connect tells you all the ways to stay connected to Lakota, like subscribing to our communications, joining us on social media, becoming a business partner, submitting a community e-flyer, volunteering and simply contacting us. Apply gets you to our employment page, while Enroll helps you quickly access our Enrollment Center for preschool, kindergarten and open enrollment information, forms and documents.

6. Gray Navigation Bar: You can go to just about anywhere from the mega menus that appear when you hover over the different headers on this bar across the top of the homepage. This bar reflects the site’s organization– with the goal of getting you to the information you’re seeking in two clicks or less. The dropdown menus throughout the site continue this feature.

5. Trending Now:This section, next to the scrolling photos, will always display the most timely and relevant opportunities, announcements and items of interest – in effect, what you need to know most right now.

4. Quick Links: Just as the name suggests, these icons along the left side are just that – links that take you directly to the most visited information, again letting you move easily throughout the site.

3. District News:To the right, the “District News” section is a summary of current news releases, compiled in one handy location. Note the “view all news” at the bottom of this section, which takes you to a collection of recent articles.

2. Upcoming Events: This is another summary area – with brief details on several upcoming district events. Again, there is an option to see a complete event listing; just click on the “view calendar” button. Note that each school section also features a calendar with both district and school-specific events.

1. Photos, Photos, Photos: And finally, you’ll notice more photos throughout the site, including scrolling banners for each school, since we know the smiling faces of our students are always of interest. We’ve made a focused effort to include photos on as many pages as appropriate, so be sure to keep an eye out for Lakota students you know.

While not a specific section, the new site is designed with mobile compatibility, allowing you to easily view the site on any mobile device without compromising or limiting the available content. Test it on your phone, tablet, laptop or other device.

And one more feature…in addition to the new and improved website, the district also just upgraded its mass notification system for delivering important school and district messages via email, phone and text message. This system – called Info Center - allows parents, guardians, staff and community members to customize their notification preferences and manage them from a single platform. If you haven’t yet set up your account, you’ll need to do so as soon as possible to ensure you receive district and school news, weather-related alerts and emergency notifications in the manner you wish to receive them. Click here for complete details.

For help or support on the new website or mass communication system, please email webmaster@lakotaonline.com or call the Media & Community Relations Department at 874-5505.